Hastings City Art Gallery wins prestigious national award

Hastings City Art Gallery has won the
Most Innovative Use of Te Reo Maori award at the 2014 NZ
Museum Awards.

The awards celebrate the best of
museum and gallery projects from around the country and were
presented in a gala ceremony held at the War Memorial
Conference Centre in Napier.

The judges commented
that the Hastings City Art Gallery’s entry entitled Te
Taniwha had utilised Te Reo Maori in a significant and
meaningful way that captured and enhanced the essence of the
language and the historical, cultural and spiritual value of
the stories, places and people.

Councillor Sandra
Hazelhurst says “This award is recognition of the
wonderful vision and imagination that is on display every
day in the gallery. It is a credit to the staff that they
have been acknowledged by the judges for the way in which
they have captured the spirit of the category. The gallery
staff are all passionate about their work and this is
reflected by this award.”

Gallery Acting Director
Kath Purchas says “We’re thrilled to have been
acknowledged in this way for all the hard work we put into
exhibiting Te Taniwha. Our challenge was to portray Joyce
Campbell’s photography and historian Richard Niania’s
writing in such a way as to honour the story, location, and
iwi involved.”

Kath Purchas says “We were aware
that we were being entrusted with sharing important
information about sacred places and history, so it was a
very considered exhibition, right down to the font
selection, quote placement and thoughtful catalogue
design.”

“We had a lot of positive feedback from
visitors to the gallery - they recognised just how special
and significant the exhibition was,” Kath Purchas
says.

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